


Amnesia Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

by MechBull



Category: As the World Turns
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:14:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26975710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MechBull/pseuds/MechBull
Summary: Katie gets amnesia. Shenanigans ensue.
Relationships: Reid Oliver & Katie Peretti, Reid Oliver/Katie Peretti, Reid Oliver/Luke Snyder
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to LiveJournal on September 25, 2011
> 
> A/N: Thanks to rhiannonhero for the title. It was a joke suggestion but it actually works pretty well!
> 
> The timeline in this may not be clear because it’s kind of canon-y and kind of not, so this is set somewhere around the end of the show where Luke and Reid are together and Noah is in L.A., but Luke and Reid haven’t slept together or said I love you yet. Katie is not with Chris though, because with Noah gone, Chris is Oakdale’s top douche and Katie deserves better!

“Katie? Katie? Open your eyes.”

Katie grunted as she weakly thrust one hand out to push at the person trying to wake her. The light seemed to brighten just outside her eyelids, and she squeezed her eyes further shut in protest, whimpering.

“Katie, time to wake up.”

She finally gave in, blinking her eyes open and finding herself staring into the very blue eyes of someone who, judging by the lab coat, appeared to be a doctor. Feeling suddenly scared, she turned to the side, seeking someone she recognized. She relaxed slightly when she saw Bob and Margo standing next to him.

Katie swallowed, trying to get some moisture into her throat. Then she looked back at the doctor sitting on the edge of her bed and asked, surprised at the croakiness of her own voice, “What happened?”

The man smiled encouragingly. “Car accident. Bumped your head pretty good.”

Katie’s eyes widened in fear. “Jacob?”

He shook his head. “Jacob’s fine; he wasn’t with you. Luke’s watching him right now.”

“Luke Snyder?” Katie asked, surprised. He wouldn’t have been the first person Katie expected.

“Mm-hmm. Katie, I just want to check on some things, OK? So I’m going to ask you a few simple questions. Bear with me.”

Katie nodded.

“Can you count to ten for me?”

Katie did, following it up with the alphabet and telling him who the president was and some tongue twisters.

“OK, almost done. What day is it?”

“Um, still Thursday, I imagine.”

The man’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Do you remember the date?”

“Um…no. The 7th?” Katie guessed wildly.

“It’s OK. Let’s go for an easy one. What month is it?”

“December.”

The doctor glanced at Bob and Margo, then back at Katie. She started to feel concerned.

“Last question,” the doctor said, his smile somewhat forced. “How old’s Jacob?”

“Five weeks,” Katie said confidently. She _knew_ that one.

“OK,” the doctor responded. “Will you excuse us for a second?”

She barely had time to respond before he, Bob and Margo were stepping outside to the hall. She leaned slightly to the side, straining to see out the window of her room. She even considered climbing out of bed and walking closer to try and hear them, but she had a feeling she’d be slightly wobbly on her feet. Whatever they were talking about, none of them looked that happy.

Their little confab was interrupted by someone Katie guessed to be Luke Snyder. He was only half visible from the window, and he had his back to her, and he appeared to have gotten his hair cut again since the last time she saw him, but she was pretty sure it was him. The part of him that was cut off from her vision was clearly holding Jacob, and she wanted to see him so badly, she actually started to climb out of bed. Before she could, though, Luke stepped fully into her line of sight, and she nearly fell out instead. Katie stared, half-convinced that wasn’t Jacob after all. Or that the candid camera would suddenly appear. Katie swallowed, wondering how her son had managed to grow practically a year older and she either missed it or didn’t remember it.

The doctor who had been treating her said a few more things to Luke and then glanced up. He must have noticed the expression on her face, because he immediately guided Luke out of her sight and headed back for the room.

“What’s going on?” she asked, almost hysterically, as soon as he walked inside.

“Katie, Katie,” he said comfortingly, holding a hand out while he sat down on the edge of the bed again. “Just calm down.”

“Calm down? Calm down?! Have I been in a coma?”

“No,” Bob chimed in, as he and Margo walked into the room. “Just bumped your head, like we said. You seem to be having some memory problems.”

“ _Some?!_ ”

“Katie,” the strange doctor said soothingly, as he placed his hand on her knee. “Judging by the scans, there’s no permanent damage. This should fix itself sooner than later.”

“Should? Why should I even believe a word you say? I don’t even know who you are.”

The man dropped his eyes quickly, almost looking hurt. Before he could reply, Margo spoke up, “Oh sure you do, sweetie. You and Reid have been living together for the past eight months.”

Katie stared at Margo for a moment, before looking back at the doctor again. He offered her a small smile. She blinked once and then asked, “Reid?”

“Reid Oliver,” he replied. “Best neurosurgeon in the world, so don’t worry about a thing.”

Bob chuckled. “You’re in good hands.”

Katie looked down at one of the hands in question, still resting comfortingly on her leg. She looked back up at the man ( _Reid_ ) and smiled weakly.

**

Katie walked slowly out of the bathroom, taking in the sight of Reid holding Jacob in his lap and playing some sort of peek-a-boo-inspired game. She was starting to feel a little more relaxed, but the whole situation still unnerved her – her child being so much older than she thought, the masculine touches around the apartment (the bathroom and kitchen especially) that had been absent since Brad, this man she was supposedly living with.

“I – I think I might go to sleep.”

Reid twisted around, glancing up at her. “That’s fine. You’ve been up long enough to have displayed any signs of – well, anyway. Sleep might be good for you, actually.”

Katie ran her hands down her thighs. She looked at Reid sadly. “How long do you think I’ll be like this?” she asked in barely a whisper.

Reid sighed, shifting Jacob to his hip as he stood and walked over to her. He reached out, awkwardly placing his free hand on her shoulder, and Katie couldn’t help but smile at the almost tense display of affection. He shook his head, exhaling from his nose.

“I really can’t say, Katie. I’m sorry, but injuries like this – they get better on their own schedule. As Bob and I explained earlier, the best thing to do is just relax and heal, try not to push anything, try not to get overly agitated. OK?”

Katie nodded, distracted suddenly by Jacob reaching out for her. She took her son from Reid’s arms, fighting a sudden wave of emotion. “I don’t remember anything about him. I don’t know what bedtime songs he likes now, or – or – ”

“Justin Timberlake.”

“Really?” Katie asked, laughing through her tears as she looked up.

“No accounting for taste,” Reid replied, shrugging. “We, ah, we usually put him to bed together, if you wanted.”

“Yeah,” Katie said, nodding. “I’d like that.”

And the routine she didn’t even remember calmed her, even as she suppressed peals of laughter at Reid’s voice and dance moves. But eventually, Jacob was asleep and as they made their way out of his bedroom, Katie began to feel nervous again.

“Reid,” she said softly, turning to him.

“Hmm?”

“Just – I’m sorry, please don’t take this the wrong way.”

He furrowed his brow as he looked at her. “Katie, what is it?”

“Do you mind sleeping in the guest room tonight?” she blurted, feeling her heart rate increase.

Reid stared at her, mouth slightly open in shock. Katie pressed her eyes closed momentarily and then looked at him again. “I know that must seem excessively prudish, considering we must have moved in with each other, I don’t even know, days after we met, but I – I just don’t feel comfortable sharing a bed with you when – ”

“Katie!”

“What?” she asked, eyes wide in embarrassment and apology.

Reid struggled with whatever he was going to say, mouth open and closing in aborted attempts at a response. “I don’t know how to handle this,” he finally muttered, more to himself than to her.

“Oh God, I’ve hurt your feelings,” Katie despaired. “And you’ve been so wonderful and – ”

“Katie, Katie, just calm down,” Reid interrupted. “Remember what I said about not getting agitated.”

Katie nodded, looking down at the floor, body shaking as she fought tears. After a moment, Reid exhaled, seemingly determined or perhaps just resigned, and said, “I’ll sleep in the guest room. No problem.”

**

Katie padded down the hall, her bare feet making no sound on the floor. It was because of that that Reid didn’t notice her approach, and she got to admire him for a moment. He was standing at the kitchen counter, wearing nothing but a pair of loose sleep pants hanging low around his waist and revealing muscles that had been deceptively covered up by clothes the previous day. His hair was tousled and pointing in every direction, and he was humming softly to himself as he prepared breakfast.

Katie mentally patted herself on the back. Her memory may be malfunctioning, but her taste certainly wasn’t.

“Morning,” she said.

Reid did a double take, then gave her a quick smile.

“Breakfast?”

“What are you making?” Katie asked, placing a hand on his lower back as she leaned to look over his shoulder. She noticed him tense at the contact but tried to pretend she hadn’t. Things had to at least start getting back to normal around here, she decided last night – for both of them. She still wasn’t ready to sleep in the same room, _the same bed_ , with him (although seeing him now, she was getting much more ready…), but that didn’t mean he should have to feel constantly on edge in his own home. And she figured if he relaxed, then she might start to relax and feel more comfortable as well – which might help her get her memories back for good.

“Ah, eggs, bacon, chocolate chip muffin, coffee.”

Katie glanced down at Reid’s abs again, this time in surprise.

“I think I’ll have some cereal,” she said. “Maybe some fruit.”

Reid shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

Reid stepped away then, and when she had made her own breakfast, Katie walked over to the table to join him.

“How’s the memory? Any dreams with strangely déjà vu-like qualities?” Reid asked with a teasing smile.

Katie shook her head. “No, nothing.”

Reid offered her a quick, supportive yet vaguely disappointed smile and then focused on his food again. Katie shifted in her chair, leaning her elbows on the table.

“Maybe we can trigger a memory or something?”

Reid inhaled and looked up. “You don’t want to push anything, Katie. You don’t need the stress.”

“But not remembering _anything_ is causing me stress too.”

Reid sighed, glancing quickly to the side. Katie smirked in triumph, quickly suppressing the expression as he looked back at her.

“What do you want to know?”

“How did we meet?”

“In Java,” Reid said, smiling softly at the memory. “Jacob had an ear infection and was screaming his fool head off. I snarked at your attempts to calm him, you saw my scrubs and the rest is history.”

“Love at first sight?” Katie asked with a sly smirk.

“Ah.” He looked down. “Something like that.”

Katie smiled. She could already tell that she must love teasing Reid about his feelings. There was something so adorable about the way he attempted to hide or deny them and yet couldn’t resist telling her the truth. Before she could ask any more questions, though, Reid’s cell phone rang. He looked quickly at the screen.

“I have to take this,” he informed her, avoiding her eyes. “I’ll – I’ll be right back.”

Katie narrowed her eyes, wondering what would require so much secrecy that he couldn’t answer his phone at the table with her. But she didn’t say anything, and he stood up and walked away. He was just barely still inside her range of hearing when he accepted the call, and her eyes narrowed even more at the soft, almost affectionate tone in his voice when he answered with a “ _Hi. Good morning._ ”

But the weirdness that had suddenly risen up in her was nothing to what she felt when, a few minutes later, Reid came out of the guest room, now unfortunately dressed, and said he had to go meet someone.

**

_Reid felt a surge of happiness and relief when he saw Luke walk into Java. He stood immediately, stepping around the table to meet him instead of waiting for Luke to walk the entire way. Leaning forward, he kissed Luke briefly, pulling back to see the pleased, bashful smile on his face and the way his eyes darted around the room to see if anyone was watching them. It always made Reid want to kiss him again, harder and longer, so he did. Luke put his hand up, pushing him away but leaving his fingers lightly pressing against Reid’s chest, burning through the thin fabric._

_“What is it?” he asked, still smiling. “What did you want to talk about in person so badly?”_

_“Get your drink,” Reid said, nodding back to the counter. “We’ll go for a walk.”_

_“OK,” Luke said, tilting his head slightly as he looked at Reid with amused confusion. “Weirdo.”_

_He stepped up to the counter then, ordering his usual and handing over some cash. Turning back to Reid while he waited, he asked “How’s Katie?”_

_“Good,” Reid nodded, pausing to exhale slowly. “No change, though.”_

_“That sucks,” Luke observed, taking his drink with a nod of thanks and leading Reid back out of the building._

_“That’s…actually what I needed to talk to you about.”_

_Luke looked at him cautiously. “Why do I suddenly feel nervous?”_

_“It’s kind of a funny story, actually,” Reid said quickly. “Remember how yesterday, when we were talking in the hall, everyone agreed that the best strategy would be to just let her figure out things for herself and not let her get too upset about anything? That any sort of shock or challenge to her processing could potentially cause damage?”_

_“Yeah,” Luke said slowly._

_“Well,” Reid continued, laughing uncomfortably as he reached his thumb up to scratch at his eyebrow. “She – she kind of has decided that we’re, she and I, I mean, we’re…a couple.”_

_Luke stopped walking and stared at Reid with wide eyes and an open mouth. “What?”_

_“God,” Reid said, turning away from Luke and continuing down the sidewalk. “I don’t even know how it happened. And now things are even more messed up.”_

_“Wait, wait, wait. You’re telling me that she_ still _thinks that? You didn’t tell her the truth?”_

 _“I didn’t know what to do! I was so surprised, and she was getting more and more agitated, and she was, like,_ seconds _away from crying, and it just seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”_

_“So…” Luke said, hesitant and unwilling to look at Reid. “What – what does this mean? What are you saying?”_

_“I’m saying I think we should probably, I don’t know, tone things down until all of this gets sorted out.”_

_“Until Katie remembers her life?”_

_“I guess.”_

_“Reid!” Luke stopped walking again, his voice rising in exasperation. “You said that could be months. You said that she might never get all of her memories back. I think you should just tell her now, before this goes any further. Katie’s strong enough to handle it; she’ll probably just laugh.”_

_Reid exhaled, looking off to the side as he apparently considered Luke’s argument. When he hadn’t responded after a few moments, Luke began to feel worried. And suspicious._

_“I thought,” he said softly, feeling sick to his stomach, “I thought we were on the same page. I thought we both wanted to really start something here and – and – you know,_ be _together.”_

 _“We are!” Reid said, looking up at Luke suddenly, seemingly in shock at Luke’s statement. “We do. We_ definitely _do.”_

 _“But you’re telling me now that I have to sit by for God knows how long, watching you pretend that you’re…what, in love with Katie? That you’re straight, and I’m just your colleague and_ friend _. God, maybe I should get Casey to pose as my beard, you know, for cover.”_

_Reid shook his head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”_

_“Never mind,” Luke said bitterly, looking off to the side and crossing his arms as he inhaled roughly._

_“I don’t understand,” Reid said hesitantly, “why you’re this upset. I mean, it’s not an ideal situation, but it_ is _temporary. I just want to make things easy for her right now, as she heals.”_

_“That’s it?” Luke bit out, still not looking at Reid._

_“Yes! What else would there be?”_

_Luke shrugged. “Timing’s fishy, that’s all.”_

_“That makes no sense to me. I feel like we’re talking about two different things, and I wish whatever’s bothering you, you would just come out and tell me.”_

_“Because you don’t play games, right? Except apparently, you do, because this seems like one hell of a game. I mean, it’s bad enough lying to a woman with brain damage. But…just – just tell me that this isn’t about the chief of staff job.”_

“What?”

_“Tell me,” Luke demanded, his voice suddenly loud. He dropped down to a low, nearly whispered tone again as he continued. “Tell me you’re not worried about how many trustees on the board share Mona Cross’s concerns. Maybe if you ignore me for a little while and play at the happy straight couple, you’ll get a few more votes.”_

_Reid stood up straighter, staring at Luke with an expression full of disbelief and hurt. Luke ignored it._

_“That’s absolutely ridiculous,” Reid finally said._

_“Is it? Because I don’t know how, if you care so much about me, how you can ask me to do this. I – you’re getting what you wanted, you know. You’re getting a chance to put me aside until it’s more convenient, until you’ve succeeded in building your career up.”_

_Reid stared at him for a few moments longer, watching Luke as his whole body shook and his nostrils flared. Finally, Reid inhaled and exhaled slowly. When he spoke again, his voice was stiff and distant and cold._

_“I’m doing the best I can to help a friend out. If you can’t see that, and you just want to accuse me of – ” Reid broke off, shaking his head. “If you want to discuss this like a rational adult, let me know. Until then, I need to go to the hospital.”_

_He walked away then, forcing himself to focus straight ahead and not look back at Luke._

**

“Oh, Henry!”

“Bubbles, sweetie!” Henry exclaimed, stepping across the threshold and immediately pulling Katie into a tight hug. “How are you?”

“Surprisingly well.”

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t here earlier. Barbara and I came back as soon as we heard about the accident.”

“Back from where? Wait – _Barbara_?!”

Henry laughed as he sat on the couch and waited for Katie to join him. Once she was seated, he nodded and leaned forward. “Bob said when he called that you were having some memory issues.”

“Some is an understatement,” Katie declared. “So you and Barbara are still together, huh? Wow.”

“More than that,” Henry held up his hand. “We’re married.”

Katie’s eyes bugged out as she grabbed Henry’s wrist, pulling it forward so she could stare at the ring on his finger.

“Oh my God, Henry! Oh my God!”

Henry chuckled. “Oh, relax. You’ve already congratulated us and wished us the best and got us a very nice wedding present, I might add. No need to make a big deal of it.”

Katie shook her head as she smacked Henry’s arm lightly. “Well, I’m sorry to have interrupted your trip.”

“Don’t worry about it, Bubbles. I wouldn’t have any fun if I knew you were going through something like this by yourself.”

“I’m not by myself!” Katie reminded him. “Reid’s here. He’s been _so_ wonderful through this whole thing.”

Henry made a face and backed away half an inch. “Yes, I’m sure. He’s always so wonderful, after all.”

Katie couldn’t stop her laughter. She reached out and placed a hand on Henry’s back. “You’re probably like this about him all the time, aren’t you? Oh, Henry. You know I will always love you, regardless of any other men in my life.”

“But why does _he_ have to be in your life?”

“Because I’m in love with him!”

Henry stared back in shock, and Katie threw her hands up in the air. “Well, I mean I must be, right? We’re living together, after all.”

Henry’s mouth opened and closed as he searched for a response.


	2. Chapter 2

“Are you OK?” Katie asked, softly and concerned as she looked into Reid’s eyes. Well, sort of. Reid was technically looking into hers, and the little light he was shining into them was nearly blinding her.

It had been five days since she left the hospital and things were getting rather stressful. Reid seemed to be increasingly on edge, and Katie felt like that was her fault. Like if she just got her memories back, everything could go back to normal. As it was, things certainly didn’t feel like they were normal. In the evenings, she was trying to force herself to behave how she would if she were hanging out at home with a live-in boyfriend. She sat close to Reid, leaned her head against his shoulder, placed her hand on his thigh. She thought that maybe it would relieve some of his stress, at least, but it hadn’t. He only seemed to tense up more and always found some excuse to stand up or even leave the room. And she had to admit that somehow, something seemed wrong to her, like some little submerged part of her memory was telling her that _wasn’t_ normal behavior for them.

And then the previous night, Reid had come home late, upset and muttering to himself. He was distracted all night, and nothing Katie did calmed him down. She wondered if something had happened at work, if he had an argument with a colleague, but it seemed far too personal to be that. And so, in a last ditch effort (OK, to be fair, it was something she was thinking about more and more ever since she saw Reid half-dressed, so it wasn’t like it was entirely selfless or anything), when Reid made noises about going to bed, Katie stood, walked over, wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned against him.

“Why don’t you move back into our room?” she had asked, slightly breathless with nerves.

Reid had simply blinked at her before reaching up and removing her arms. “I don’t think that would be a good idea,” he had said as he backed away, then walked into the guest room and closed the door behind him.

Katie had felt enormously rejected, but she tried to see things from his perspective. She imagined, if the situations were reversed, she would feel awkward about doing anything too intimate with someone who didn’t even remember meeting her.

“I’m fine,” Reid said, interrupting her thoughts, and Katie’s attention refocused on their present conversation.

“Sure?”

“Yes, Katie,” Reid sighed, sounding frustrated. He stood and walked to the door of the exam room. “I’ll be right back; I’m going to check and see if your ride’s here.”

“Oh, OK,” Katie replied, curious about Reid’s sudden change of subject – and why he apparently felt the need to escape the room.

She stood moments after the door closed behind her and stepped up to the window. Peeking out, she immediately drew back to hide. Reid was just outside the room, talking to Henry. Their voices rose slightly, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying, and she considered walking out there to break it up. They had been on edge with each other ever since Reid had come home in the middle of Henry’s visit with her the other day. The look on Reid’s face had been shock and concern and maybe even fear. Katie had snickered then, wondering if Reid was jealous of Henry – and wondering if she could somehow use that to her advantage in her _make things normal again, preferably by getting Reid out of his clothes_ plan. But Reid had merely pulled Henry aside and Katie overheard some whispers about her condition, and then Henry had spluttered and stormed out of the apartment.

At the sound of the door handle moving, Katie sprung into action, rushing back to her chair and folding her hands in her lap calmly. She turned to face the door as innocently as possible. Reid hung onto the doorknob as he leaned into the room.

“Henry’s here to take you home.”

“Oh, good,” Katie said. She stood, grabbing her purse and walking to the door. “So…what’s the verdict?”

Reid sighed and shook his head. He stepped out into the hallway, and Katie followed him.

"No change. Still nothing physical I can see that might be causing this.”

Katie exhaled in frustration. Then she shrugged. “OK. Well, see you at home.”

She lifted herself to her tiptoes then, pulling Reid down into a quick kiss before he could stop her. He immediately cleared his throat and stepped back, and Katie tried not to let on how much that bothered her. Or how much it bothered her when he looked over her shoulder, mumbled something about needing to talk to her nephew and rushed past her with barely a goodbye. Katie turned to watch him catch up to Casey just as he turned the corner and then she faced Henry again. Over his shoulder, she saw Luke Snyder, dressed in a suit and tie – and the thought of him as a real grown-up now still made her smile – and staring at her. She tilted her head in confusion at the expression on his face and was just about to call out and ask if he were OK when he turned sharply on his heel and disappeared down the hall.

“That was weird,” she observed to Henry.

“Yep, weird,” Henry agreed, somewhat too quickly.

**

By the time Katie and Henry had met Barbara at the Lakeview for dinner and drinks and finally made it back to the apartment, Reid’s shift was over. Katie smiled as she walked into the living room and saw his bag on the couch. She had spent much of her time tonight trying to get more details of their relationship out of Henry – she must have told him some things, after all – but Henry was frustratingly tight-lipped about it. It didn’t matter, though. Katie was beginning to think she’d never get her memories back. So what they were like in the past, all the little moments that made them _them_ weren’t important anymore. They had to find a new way to move forward.

Katie nodded in determination at that thought and proceeded to walk through the apartment, intent on getting her leftovers to Reid. She was about to knock on the bedroom door when she heard his voice rise slightly.

“What does that even mean, you saw me today?”

Katie furrowed her brow at his tone. She leaned back against the wall and listened, feeling like this conversation was important in some way she didn’t quite understand.

“Oh come on!” Reid exclaimed. “Obviously I didn’t have anything to do with that. It’s not like I wanted it to happen.”

Silence, and then Reid loudly exhaled. His voice was quieter when he replied again, and Katie could almost see him bend his head forward and pinch the bridge of his nose.

“Look,” he said, clearly fighting for calm. “I talked to the littlest Hughes and he told me about what happened with – yeah, I think it _is_ relevant. You’re the one that brought it up in the first place!”

Katie was thoroughly confused now, wondering what her nephew had to do with anything, and wondering if she’d finally find out why Reid ditched her to go talk to him this afternoon. If nothing else, she hoped she could figure out who exactly Reid was talking to now.

“I’m not him,” Reid said emphatically and then, after a moment, he sighed. “No, I want you to tell me that you know that. I want to believe you mean it. I’m not him.”

A much longer silence then, and Katie feared the conversation was over. She was about to rush away from the door in case he exited the room when she heard him talk again. What he said shook her to the core and it made her see things in a whole new light as she struggled to find some other interpretation than the one that immediately came to her mind.

“Yes, Katie getting better is important,” Reid said softly and sincerely. “But it’s not the only important thing. This – us, it’s important too. And this isn’t how I wanted it to be with us.”

Reid was having an affair.

**

“He’s not having an affair.”

“It’s the only explanation, Henry!”

“Really? The _only_ explanation?”

Katie crossed her arms and glared at Henry. Henry sighed and softened as he added, “Trust me on this, OK? He’s not having an affair.”

Katie shook her head and continued walking. After a quick glance upwards as if seeking divine intervention, Henry jogged a couple feet to catch up with her.

“I can’t – I can’t escape this feeling, Henry. I need to know for sure. And you need to help me find out.”

“How?” Henry asked, the whine audible in his voice.

“We’re going to follow him, of course!”

“Of course,” Henry sighed, resigned.

“And we’ll need disguises.”

**

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Katie couldn’t resist mentally humming the Pink Panther theme song as she walked down the hall of the hospital a few days later. Ostensibly, she had brought Jacob in for a check-up, but she left him in the care of Chris and the nurse almost immediately, claiming she absolutely needed to get a cup of coffee. She then proceeded to bypass every coffee station between the exam room and Reid’s office.

Unfortunately, there was no one around when she arrived. Or perhaps fortunately, she thought as she tried the knob. When she discovered the door was indeed locked, though, she scowled in disappointment.

“He’s at a board meeting,” a nurse informed Katie as she walked past. Katie jumped at the interruption and then nodded in acknowledgment and thanks.

She walked over to the nearby waiting area and sat down. She was close enough to see when he got back and hear any conversation he might be having, but far enough away and just out of the line of sight where he wouldn’t necessarily notice her. It was perfect. She picked up a magazine as she slouched down in the chair, using it to hide her face as she waited.

She didn’t have to wait long. Mere minutes later, she heard Reid’s voice moments before he rounded the corner, Luke Snyder on his heels. They were arguing about something, which they seemed to do a lot, Katie had noticed, and didn’t even glance in her direction as they went into Reid’s office. The door slammed shut and Katie weighed the pros and cons of sticking around. They looked like they weren’t going to agree any time soon, so it’s not like she’d learn anything about whether Reid was seeing someone else. At the same time, she was already there and who knows what she might find out from gossiping nurses or someone…

**

“It was a totally wasted half-hour,” Katie informed Henry later at Java, as she bounced Jacob on one knee. “I didn’t overhear anything from anyone, and Reid and Luke spent the entire time holed up in his office, fighting.”

“Hmm,” Henry murmured, looking away as he took a sip of his drink.

“Must have been something big, because they looked like they went ten rounds when they finally came out of the office,” Katie added, laughing lightly. “Reid had several buttons undone and it looked like Luke had been pulling his hair in frustration.”

Henry shuddered.

“What?” Katie asked. “What is it?”

“Nothing. Just…cold,” Henry replied.

“Anyway,” Katie continued, not paying him much attention. “You’re up tomorrow.”

“What? Me?!”

“Yes. Reid claims he has a dinner meeting at the Lakeview about the wing. You live there; you have a reason to be there. I want to hear every detail.”

“And how am I supposed to do that without being spotted?” Henry asked.

Katie looked at him over her mug. “I think you know the answer to that.”

**

Katie nearly tore the door off its hinges. Her urgency was only beaten by Henry’s as he hurried into the apartment and ripped the wig off his head.

“Well?”

“Give me a second,” Henry replied, before contorting while he unhooked the overly stuffed bra he wore.

“You really expect me to wait when you just were stuck in the closet of a hotel room occupied by my boyfriend and his mystery lover?”

Henry sat down on the couch with a sigh. Rubbing at one eye, he finally looked up at Katie. “Really nothing happened. It sounded like a business meeting.”

Katie crossed her arms and rolled her eyes simultaneously. “Who has a business meeting in a hotel suite?”

“In Oakdale?”

Katie ignored the rhetorical question and waited for Henry to continue, one eyebrow raised expectantly.

“Besides, he was barely in there before his beeper went off. Even if they were going to do something, which I doubt, they didn’t have time,” Henry explained, adding what sounded suspiciously like a _Thank God_ under his breath.

“And you really couldn’t see the woman he was with?” Katie asked him, despite his repeated denials during their earlier cell phone conversation.

“No, Katie,” Henry said, shaking his head. “I didn’t see – her or hear the conversation or anything.”

“But there was definitely someone in there with him?”

“Ye – yes.”

“Fine,” Katie exclaimed. “Time to bring out the big guns. I’m not giving up on this relationship without a fight.”

“The big guns?” Henry asked weakly.

“ _Exactly._ ”

**

Two days later, Katie was almost ready. Jacob was with Margo, Reid should be home any moment, and she herself was putting the final touches of her plan into action in the form of fire engine red lipstick to match the slinky teddy that left virtually nothing to the imagination currently clinging to all her curves. She smacked her lips as she capped the tube and then bent forward to shake out her hair a bit more. Flipping her head back, the curly, disheveled tendrils floated back down to her shoulders; she pursed her lips and blew an air kiss to her reflection.

Reid wouldn’t know what hit him.

This was it, Katie told herself, suppressing the inexplicable feeling of nerves and nausea that suddenly attacked her. She wasn’t going to lose him; he was one of the few rocks she could depend on in all this (or so she had thought). And she wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

The sound of the door opening and closing alerted Katie to Reid’s return. She took a deep breath and one last look in the mirror before standing and walking to the living room. Reid didn’t notice her; he was flipping through the mail. She used the opportunity to lean seductively against the frame of the hallway door, one arm stretched up over her head, the other bent as she rested the hand on her hip. Still Reid didn’t look up.

Katie cleared her throat.

The look on Reid’s face as he finally noticed her presence was priceless. He basically froze, his eyes locked on her chest, the envelopes in his hand forgotten and hanging loosely. Finally, he seemed to find himself, although his eyes kept darting back to her plunging neckline

“Hi,” he said, sounding somewhat uncertain. Katie grinned.

“Hello,” she replied, drawling out the word as she sauntered over to him. “Welcome home.”

She stopped just in front of him, reaching an arm up to wrap it around his neck. She attempted to pull him down into a kiss, but Reid ducked out of her embrace and stepped quickly to the side.

“Katie!”

“Reid,” she interrupted, shaking her head and closing the distance between them again. She grabbed the lapels of Reid’s jacket and held him steady. “It’s OK. I’m ready for this. I want this. I want things between us to go back to normal.”

Reid brought both hands up to scrub at his face. “God, me too,” he muttered.

“So, see?” Katie asked, rising to her tiptoes to try and kiss him again.

“Stop!”

Katie fell back, hurt and confused. She blinked several times.

“Don’t – don’t cry,” Reid said. “I just – we need to talk.”

“All we’ve been doing is talk,” Katie pointed out.

“No, I mean we – ”

And that, of course, was when Reid’s cell rang. An entirely too relieved Reid pulled it out of his pocket and read the text. Katie exhaled in frustration. If she had learned anything about her forgotten life, it was that she must have hated that damn cell phone.

“It’s the hospital. I – ”

“Have to go,” Katie filled in the rest of the sentence.

“Katie, when I get back, we have to talk.”

**

A now-fully dressed Katie spotted Luke Snyder almost immediately when she walked into Al’s an hour or so after the failed seduction. Smiling, she walked over to his table.

“Mind if I join you?” she asked, forcing cheerfulness into her voice.

If Katie didn’t know Luke better, she would have sworn he hesitated. But, the strange moment aside, he quickly nodded, moving things around on the table to get them out of Katie’s way.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

Katie shrugged. “Physically fine.”

“Still no memories? Nothing at all?” Luke’s voice sounded rather intense or even urgent, and Katie smiled inwardly. He always cared so much about other people.

“’Fraid not,” she replied, watching Luke’s shoulders slump.

“That’s too bad.”

Katie nodded, distracted for a moment as the waitress appeared. After placing an order, she turned back to Luke. “But, you know, I’m trying to get my life back to normal as much as possible anyway.”

“That’s probably good.”

“Wish other people felt that way,” Katie muttered darkly.

“Other people?” Luke asked, raising his eyebrows.

Katie sighed. “Reid.”

Luke furrowed his brow. “He’s – he’s not being – ”

Katie interrupted. “Don’t get me wrong. He’s been fantastic. I can’t imagine what I’d have done without him. And he’s always there for me. Well, except when the damn hospital calls.”

Luke unexpectedly burst into laughter. “Um, yep,” he managed to say after a moment. “Yeah, I can _imagine_ how frustrating that could be.”

“Frustrating’s definitely the word.” Katie sighed. “I don’t think he loves me anymore.”

Luke’s laughter stopped abruptly. He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat, dropping his eyes away from Katie as he stared at the invisible patterns he drew on the table with his finger. “Of course Reid loves you, Katie,” he said quietly.

“Well, he certainly doesn’t want me. I _threw_ myself at him tonight, trying to – um – renew the physical side of our relationship. He couldn’t get far enough away from me.”

Luke finally glanced back up at Katie, and she could not even begin to guess at what he thought about her confession. His eyes projected back at her some combination of sadness, mirth and maybe even jealousy. Katie brushed aside the confusion that sparked somewhere inside her.

“That’s – that’s too bad,” Luke finally said, slowly choosing his words. “I’m sure…everything will get sorted out.”

“I hope so. Reid wants to _talk_ when he gets back, so I’m trying not to think about what that means.”

“He does?” Luke asked, all confusing emotions immediately replaced by sheer happiness and his blinding smile. Katie shook her head, still not sure why he was reacting how he was; it was like he was having an entirely different conversation than she was.

“Anyway,” she said. “Listen to me go on and on. With all this, I’ve been so wrapped up in myself, I haven’t caught up with anyone, it seems. How are you? How are things with Noah?”

Luke had been taking a sip of his water and starting coughing at the question. Once he recovered, he made a strange gesture and looked to the side as he said, “Um, they’re…not.”

“Are you two broken up again?” Katie asked.

“Yes,” Luke said simply.

Katie shook her head. “Well, I’m sure that will all get sorted out too. You two belong together.”

Luke smiled weakly.

**

The next morning, Katie tried not to think about everything that was going on. Reid hadn’t made it home yet by the time she went to bed and he was gone by the time she woke up. She wanted to believe that was because he was busy saving lives like some kind of a superhero, but she couldn’t help but notice he slept in the guest room again. Maybe he was just avoiding this talk he had apparently been so desperate to have, even at the expense of their sex life.

She sighed, rubbed at her brow in an attempt to rid herself of the headache that neither pills nor caffeine had yet to diminish, and picked up the next piece of Jacob’s tiny wardrobe from the laundry basket. Smiling to herself, she folded it as she remembered sitting on this same couch with Reid as he told her he was planning to stay –

Katie looked up in surprise. Then she deliberately started chasing that memory as it skittered around the edges of her brain. Sitting on the couch. Folding clothes. Reid being somewhat evasive. “You don’t know me. What you do know isn't much.” “Tell me what I need to know.” And then Reid saying…saying…

Katie gasped. Another sharp pain went through her head.

**

Katie glanced up with a small smile as Reid walked into the apartment. She quickly glanced away to hide her much larger smile when she saw his facing-a-firing-squad expression.

“You’re home!” she said cheerfully as she turned back to the candles she was lighting.

“Um. Yeah,” Reid’s response was slow and drawn out in his confusion. “What’s all this?”

“You wanted to talk, right? So did I. So…nice dinner for two.”

Reid sighed. “Look, Katie – ”

“No! Me first!”

Katie rushed over to him, grabbing his hands and pulling him down to the couch.

“Reid,” she said sincerely. “I don’t know what I would have done without you during all this. You’ve truly been a great friend. I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate everything and how much I love you.”

Reid nodded, looking at his lap as he struggled with a response.

Katie fought a smile. “I think we should get married.”

Reid’s head whipped up in surprise. He stared at her for a moment, then sighed as he shook his head.

“No, Katie. I’m sorry. Look, that’s what I wanted to tell you. You – we’re – I’m in love with someone else,” he said in a rush. “I haven’t even told him that yet – we haven’t even – um, never mind. But it’s true. This whole thing has gotten completely – ”

Reid broke off in surprise as Katie smacked his arm.

“You haven’t told Luke that you love him yet?!”

“No, I – wait. What?”

Katie collapsed in laughter.

“You remember?” Reid asked, confused.

Katie nodded. “Everything,” she choked out. “This morning.”

Reid exhaled in relief, bringing his palms up to rub at his face as he fell back onto the couch. He shook his head.

“So all this…”

Katie shrugged. “A little fun. Wanted to see how far you’d take this.”

Reid pulled his hands away and glared at her half-heartedly. “These last several days have been hell, and your first thought was to have _a little fun_ at my expense?”

Katie pretended to think for a moment, then nodded. She leaned against Reid then, wrapping her arms around him in a friendly hug, relieved that he didn’t tense up when she touched him for the first time in a week.

“I meant what I said earlier,” she said softly. “I don’t know how – how to thank you.”

Reid kissed the top of her head but didn’t reply.

“One question, though,” Katie asked, smiling again.

“Hmm?”

“How come you couldn’t stop staring at my boobs?”

Reid barked in laughter. “Hey, I might be gay, but I can still recognize a great set of knockers, and those were – ”

Katie smacked his arm again. And just then, the doorbell rang.

“Oh, good!” Katie exclaimed, bouncing off the couch to go answer the door.

“Expecting someone?” Reid asked, still amused.

Katie didn’t bother answering as she flung the door open and revealed Luke.

“Hi Luke!”

“Katie, is everything OK? Your message was kind of vague. I got here as soon as I could, but – ”

“Luke,” Katie interrupted, stepping forward to kiss his cheek. “Everything’s fine.”

With that, she grabbed his shoulders and steered him into the living room. She let him go, as he stared back and forth between her and Reid in confusion. Katie picked up her purse and gave a cheery little wave.

“I’m having dinner with Margo. The oven needs about five more minutes to finish your food. Enjoy!”

Katie walked to the door and then paused one more time, leaning against the frame as she turned back to them.

“Luke? Reid has something to tell you. Make sure he does.”

With one more wave, Katie closed the door, grinning widely as she walked down the hall.

**

Katie yawned, stretching her arms as she walked out into the living room. She turned the corner towards the kitchen and stopped abruptly. When she finally arrived home the night before, she had realized, based on the abandoned leftovers and the clothes on the floor trailing towards the bedroom, that the evening went well for Luke and Reid. She hadn’t expected to see the evidence of that firsthand.

Both of them were in nothing but boxers, and Luke was leaning against Reid’s chest, smiling against his lips as they kissed. Reid held the spatula in one hand out to the side, while his other hand was buried deep in Luke’s hair. Katie raised her eyebrow at the little red marks – fingernail scratches and love bites, she assumed – all over both of their torsos.

“Two half-naked men for the price of one,” she said loudly, snickering as they broke apart in embarrassed surprise. “I think I like this arrangement even better.”

The End


End file.
